Jen McVeity Biography

Born 1975; Rusden College, diploma of education, 1976. Hobbies and other interests: Water skiing, swimming, volleyball, trapeze training, reading.

Offıce—P.O. Box 194, Sandringham, Victoria 3191, Australia; fax: +61-3-9521-8437.

Teacher of English and mathematics and head of English department at a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, c. 1993—. Highlighting Writing, principal; international speaker, including appearances at festivals and conferences. Formerly worked as a ski instructor. City of Bayside, Australia, member of cultural advisory committee.

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (Australian and New Zealand regional advisor, 1996—; member of international board of directors, 2000—), Australian Society of Authors.

Mary Grant Bruce Award, Federation of Australian Writers, 1994, for The Barley Tree; Australian Family Therapists' Award for Children's Literature, fiction category, 1999, for Dreamcatcher; Family Award and Best Books citation, New York Public Library, both 2000, for On Different Shores; Churchill fellow, Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, 2002.